1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a surgical instrument that includes a fail safe latch mechanism.
2. Background of Related Art
Instruments such as electrosurgical forceps are commonly used in open and endoscopic surgical procedures to coagulate, cauterize and seal tissue. Such forceps typically include a pair of jaws that can be controlled by a surgeon to grasp targeted tissue, such as, e.g., a blood vessel. Utilizing a movable handle of the forceps the jaws may be approximated toward one another to apply a mechanical clamping force to the tissue. The jaws are associated with at least one electrode to permit the delivery of electrosurgical energy to the tissue. The combination of the mechanical clamping force and the electrosurgical energy has been demonstrated to join adjacent layers of tissue captured between the jaws.
A latching or locking mechanism may be a component of the forceps and utilized to temporarily lock the movable handle in a proximal position against the bias of a spring (or the like) to clamp the jaws on the tissue. As can be appreciated, if the latch mechanism were to fail during use (e.g., get jammed, trapped or stuck into a locked configuration), for example, while the jaws were clamped on tissue, it could prove difficult to remove the jaws and/or the forceps safely from the surgical site.